Meet the Author: Abie Longstaff’s Fairytale Hairdresser (06/04/2015)
| Venue | ： | Causeway Bay Kiddyland Basement, 68 Yee Wo Street, Causeway Bay, H.K. |
| Speaker | ： | Abie Longstaff |
| Host | ： | Ms. Christa Tam |
Review
Picture books are so beautifully made nowadays that it is really not easy at all for a new book to stand out on the shelf, let alone one by a new author, Abie Longstaff is an exception at our stores since her debut a few years ago. Her Fairytale Hairdresser series has attracted our readers' eyes right from the start with her imaginative retelling of familiar fairytales and her illustrator, Lauren Beard's glorious and glittery illustrations. It was no surprise how much she was adored by our audience at our Meet-the-Author event at Kiddyland on 6 April.
As Abie told the story of Kittie Lacey, the owner and fabulous fairytale hairdresser of Kittie's Cuts from The Fairytale Hairdresser and Cinderella, our young members were really excited to see so many familiar fairytale characters queuing up for a hairdo. They named each of them cheerfully and confidently – Aladdin, Jack from Jack and the Beanstalk, Humpty Dumpty, Pinnochio, Hansel and Gretel, to name just a few. They heard that everyone in the kingdom received an invitation from the Queen to a perfect ball to find the perfect girl for the Prince. Hence, Kittie needed extra help at her salon to do all the maidens' hairdos. Fortunately, she found it in Cinderella! The children were surprised! They didn't know that Cinderella could work outside her home! They didn't know Cinderella's story could be different either!
They were pleased to see Cinderella and Kittie's team - work and how Cinderella got better by at combing beards, shaving furs and even washing and dyeing wool as time went by! Her hard work paid off when they visited the palace to work on the Queen's hair where she crashed into Prince Charming! Needless to say, that led to a happy ending which everyone loved!
The author's wonderful retelling of this rags-to-riches romance didn't just give us a great story but also a valuable lesson on creativity. With imagination, anyone can create a different but engaging fairytale! Listening to fabulous stories like this one can spark a child's imagination from a young age.
To help inspire our young members, Abie brought along her much-treasured scrapbook to show them how to make a book! Abie told how she collected pictures that interest her in her scrap book for ideas on stories. She also showed her handwritten stories and pictures based on her ideas. Contrary to everyone's expectation, they looked messy! Abie explained that it was impossible to be perfect the first time around, the key was to keep making the necessary changes over and over again to make it better each time until she was happy with the results. It was a great lesson for both parents and children who sometimes have the pressure to be perfect all the time. The process itself can be a fantastic learning experience. We hope that all the moms and dads, boys and girls present would take this to heart and put into practice what Abie shared with them.
We were truly lucky to have such an intimate session with Abie and to have the chance to take a sneak peek of her upcoming new book The Fairytale Hairdresser and the Mermaid , due out in May. Don't miss it!
Thank you, Abie for your great story and sharing.
